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https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
What else shall we ask Father Igloo for? A stereo full range powered cab, something like atomic do would probably be good for live players. Plenty of power for the low end botherers. Would need to have sleek, sophisticated looks in-keeping with the new Helix.
I will be surprised if the cab modelling is really up to Kemper or AxeFX - because it doesn't sound like it is - and perhaps I'm still sore about Line 6 modulation effects after the X3 Live but they just don't do everything well enough.
Looks nice, does LOADS, but for a bunch of guys interested in buffers, analogue this, germanium that, I'm quite surprised to see so many of us perfectly ok with the idea of plugging their guitars straight into a D/A converter and being wowed at the possibilities.
I do think it's a little expensive, and UNLESS they have nailed the cabs and everything else is really very good, I'm going to stick my neck out and predict a bit of a flop...
But they're not really demos at this point. They're teasers... with presumably beta-level firmware in the unit, and not a whole lot of preparation time.
The reverb at the end of the Sweetwater demo sounds very Big Sky-ish imho. The brief modulation effects sound much more natural than previous Line 6 units.
I don't give a stuff about analog personally. I don't care about Klon's, Germanium fuzzes, true-bypass versus buffered, etc.. etc... I care whether something SOUNDS GOOD.
And at this point in time, it's utterly premature to make a judgement on that. Which is why 90% of what you've seen about this unit that we're all getting excited about, is pretty much limited to the looks and the workflow and the possibilities of the thing.
Of course, YES... if it sounds shit, it's going to fail. No question... but something tells me that Line 6 have thought of that.
If we're going on the HD500... the amp modelling in that unit sounds every bit as good as Kemper and Axe FX... the cabs sucked, sure.
Loading an IR into an Axe FX II and loading an IR into this new Helix shouldn't really sound that different. Take an impulse, load it into each unit... feed it the same source audio... it will sound the same. Convolution isn't something that is open to subjective qualitative differences - it's hardcore mathematics... so the stock cabs on the Helix unit might not sound good, who knows... but the IR capabilities will sound as good as the Axe FX or Kemper.
I don't think it's expensive at all. Go and look at your guitars, your effects pedals, and your amps... I'm betting you've got or have had something equally as expensive.
All in all... I think it's fine for us to go all dream-like about the possibilities... but it's a bit premature to start passing total judgement on it.
The Line6 video sounds good though, it's quite hard to believe that both came from the same product.
You're quite right about the theory behind impulses - give or take assumptions about sample rate, bit depth etc - but the point remains that according to you (I would agree) the cabs in the HD500 sucked. Why would that be?
Of course there's gear that costs more, so what? My point was that if the cab modelling isn't great, people will be running into power amps etc. I would also bet that Line6 will be seeking to extract further money from users with additional packs and IRs. If that's the case, what we need to know is (in addition to whether it's any good) the cost of a completely pimped out Helix.
Line6's modelling has never been that great (I mean it's fine for the price, but it's not the stuff dreams are made of). They've made a few classic effects (mainly delays) and some truly horrible guitar processors. There's a history of patchy reliability, lack of updates/fixes and poor customer service. If this sounds magical and works as well as everyone hopes, it'll be a first for them. I hope it does! It would be a frankly awesome solution.
Take a TimeLine, a Big Sky, a PitchFactor, and say a ModFactor. Each piece has a powerful processor in it, a Sharc or whatever, and we know that those processors are needed to a) sound the way they sound, and b) deal with spillover, instant patch changes etc. (And some people still complain about some of these pedals not sounding like 'real' pedals). If we're taking about comparisons to Strymon and the rest of the big DSP boys, Line6 must have done some efficient programming if this is going to compete, because once you engage the processing on those four effects that's already a lot of processing. Add in all the convolution - that's amp responses, cab responses, mic responses and room responses, AND all the rest of it like graphics and OS - that's a lot of 'hardcore mathematics'. I think expecting the Heilx to sound and perform as well as these pedals could be unrealistic when it costs the same as just three big Strymons. I could totally be wrong.
Add in stuff like the preset lag being 'under development' though... I dunno... It'll be interesting finding out!